The Pony Incident
by MildlyInsane
Summary: Bilbo is assigned watch duty for the first time, and is very nervous about the idea of being put in charge of such an important task. Completely unsure of himself, Bilbo reluctantly agrees to take on this responsibility. Fortunately, Bofur notices his concern and in an effort to ease Bilbo's worries stays up with him, telling the hobbit the story of the first time Bofur kept watch.


_**In my other work-in-progress Hobbit story "Lost in Mirkwood" I recently briefly mentioned a time when Bilbo was put on watch duty and was so obviously nervous that Bofur took it upon himself to stay up and keep watch along with him. After writing that tiny little detail, I thought it would make a nice little single-chapter story, so I wrote the scene up, and here it is! Of course, I'll continue updating my other story too. I just had to get this little thing out of my head really quick first.**_

_**This is a stand-alone story. You do not need to have read Lost in Mirkwood for this to make sense. Though I mentioned this instance in my other story, it's totally not something that wouldn't make sense by itself, so if my other story isn't your cup of tea, you might still enjoy this one. They can exist in the same universe, but they don't have to. You can read just one or just the other... or both, or neither. It doesn't matter.**_

_**This story takes place early on in the quest to reclaim Erebor, though I never really specified when exactly. I was intentionally quite vague in terms of establishing when exactly this takes place. The only details that might help establish when this happens on the timeline are the fact that they still have their ponies and that Gandalf is presently with them. Besides that, it can happen pretty much whenever you want it to. Just sometime early on, when Bilbo is still very much unsure of himself.**_

_**I see Bofur as one of the most friendly and caring of all the dwarves and have been wanting to write a story with him as a bigger character for a while now. I absolutely love him, and could totally picture him forgoing sleep in order to put Bilbo's mind at ease. When I thought of this, I just had to write a whole scene for it. So here's the story of Bilbo's first night on watch duty, which also coincidentally includes the story of Bofur's first night on watch duty. Ha ha!**_

_**I hope you like it:**_

_**xxxxxx**_

Bilbo grumbled quietly to himself as he tossed his bag to the dirt floor of the cave the dwarves had decided to camp in tonight. He was exhausted, cold, and slightly damp from the light rain that had been falling periodically throughout the day. There were some nights when he felt an especially strong longing to be back in his cozy hobbit hole, in his warm, dry bed, and this was certainly one of those nights. In fact, Bilbo wasn't sure if he could possibly feel more miserable than he did right now.

Today had been one of the roughest days of the quest yet, not in terms of anyone being in great peril, or of anything particularly horrifying happening, but, rather, in terms of the awful weather and uneven terrain. They'd walked over rocky hills and through a few somewhat deep streams which were almost too much for their ponies to handle. Even atop his noble stead, Bilbo found his own feet and lower legs ended up soaked in those dreadful streams, which he would have never dared cross without a bridge if the dwarves hadn't been with him and pressured him into going along with their dangerous ideas. He swore these dwarves were going to end up getting him killed. The waters were entirely too deep for any sane person to think crossing them on a pony was a good idea.

Even worse than the cold, deep streams were the horrible, rough, steep hills, which were absolutely littered with countless jagged rocks. The poor ponies seemed barely able to make their way over those wretched hills. Bilbo had even jumped off his pony at one point, and walked beside him so that navigating up the steep, uneven rocks wouldn't be too much for the poor thing to manage. The hobbit felt awfully guilty seeing how tired the ponies were made by this land, and didn't want his own weight to be added onto an already difficult trek. And then the light rain, coming and going constantly all day and night on top of all that made this day the worst yet.

It was a small cave he found himself in now, small, musty, and now very crowded. In fact, it seemed there was barely enough room for all of them to lie down, but since Thorin didn't want to risk having a fire tonight anyway, Bilbo supposed the close proximity between himself and the dwarves would at least keep him warm though the night. He'd need that, considering he was chilled to the bone from having been rained on all day.

Too often he'd spend nights on this quest feeling as though he was nearly freezing to death. Some nights be could barely even sleep, due to his own shivering and numb fingers and toes. Bilbo had never known being cold could keep him from sleeping, even when he was utterly exhausted. He always thought if someone were tired enough, they could sleep through chill air, but he learned the hard way that that wasn't necessarily true. Even with a blanket, and his coat, and sometimes an extra blanket if one of the dwarves was feeling generous, Bilbo still shivered some nights. He simply wasn't used to sleeping outside, and especially not without a fire. Unfortunately, tonight wasn't the only night Thorin refused to allow a fire at their camp site.

"Who's on watch tonight?" Bofur wondered as he made his way passed Bilbo, bumping his arm slightly in the process. The cave was so crowded now that everyone was nearly on top of each other, "I've lost track of the days. Is it my turn again?"

"If you're volunteering, the rest of us won't mind at all," Kili laughed, "I could certainly use some sleep, tonight in particular."

"It's not your turn anyway," Bofur reminded him, "you took a turn already since last I did. I think it might be my turn again. We're all tired of course, and while I don't think there's any one of us who wouldn't like to get some sleep tonight, it's only fair that we all take our turn. I don't mind. It's only half the night anyway, and then I'll be waking one of you up."

"Bilbo," Thorin spoke up.

Bilbo turned around to face the dwarf, "hm?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. It wasn't often Thorin addressed him by his actual name.

"Why don't you take first watch tonight," he suggested, though the hobbit was fairly certain that it was not a question, regardless of its phrasing.

"I-" Bilbo hesitated. It was fair that he should have to take a turn keeping watch, just like everyone else, but he didn't know how... What was he even supposed to watch_ for_? The night was pitch black, and there were always strange noises all around them. How would he even know which noises warranted getting worried over?

"It's no problem, Thorin," Bofur put his hand on Bilbo's arm and looked over to Thorin, "I don't mind at all. Bilbo's exhausted. I'll keep watch tonight. I really don't mind, honestly."

"Everyone needs to do their share," Thorin noted, "you can take second watch, Bofur. Bilbo needs to learn to do these things sometime. Now's as good a time as any."

Bilbo agreed with that much. He wanted to do his fair share, and certainly didn't want any of the dwarves having to work extra on his account, but he still wasn't excited about the idea of being put in charge of something so important. What if he failed to recognize something significant, and the entire group was killed because of him? This was an awfully huge responsibility for someone who didn't feel confident in his ability to successfully complete the task. He wanted to pull his own weight and to do his part, but more importantly, he wanted no one to be killed.

As though sensing the burglar's unease, Thorin spoke up once more, "it's nothing to stress over, Bilbo. Just watch and listen for anything strange. Alert us if you notice anything odd."

"But everything out here is odd," Bilbo felt his shoulders slump. Even though he was disappointed that he wouldn't get to sleep much after this horribly long day, that wasn't the reason he was so uneasy now. Keeping watch for danger in an effort to keep thirteen dwarves and one wizard safe from harm was a very daunting task. Messing this up could result in death, and not just his own. There were many things he didn't mind so much faking his way through. In fact, that was pretty much how he had made his way this far into their quest, but tasks which could end in death if failed weren't among those things he felt confident blindly stumbling his way through. He didn't feel right claiming to know how to keep watch when he most certainly knew nothing about it. But this didn't seem to be up for discussion. Thorin had volunteered Bilbo to keep watch, and it seemed like that was what was going to happen, no matter how uncertain the hobbit felt.

"You'll know if it's something that matters," Balin smiled as he clapped the hobbit on the shoulder, "far away animal noises are nothing, of course. Voices are something, in any language. You hear anyone talking, so long as it's not any of us, you wake someone immediately, but quietly. Movement in foliage nearby is cause for concern, but not for alerting the others until you investigate further. See if it's just a rabbit or deer before you get worried. It's easier than it seems. You'll do fine, laddie."

Bilbo forced a smile, but he didn't feel certain about this at all. He paced awkwardly to the edge of the cave and looked out into the night. He couldn't see a single thing. It was the darkest night of their journey so far, or at least it seemed so to him. The moon wasn't out and neither were the stars. The sky was likely cloudy due to all that rain. In fact, it was still raining. That would probably keep him from hearing any danger too. He hoped no one died tonight because of his inability to keep watch.

As he stared out into the darkness, he began feeling more and more worried. He didn't know how to do this... and it was a really important task, "Thorin, I'm not sure I can," he turned around toward Thorin, who looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, "no one ever taught me how," Bilbo squeaked in a small voice.

"You're more than capable, Bilbo. We all know you can do this just as well as anyone else," Gandalf chimed in with a calm voice before Thorin could say anything, probably to spare Bilbo Thorin's response, which was sure to be an angry one. Gandalf gave him a very reassuring smile and a nod, but the wizard always seemed to think Bilbo was capable of much more than the hobbit really was, "if you have any doubts, just wake someone and ask them."

"You better not wake me unless it's something real," Dwalin laughed from across the cave as he situated himself under a blanket on the ground, "don't know about the rest of 'em, but I plan to sleep like a rock."

Bilbo frowned and found a semi-comfortable spot near the edge of the cave, near enough to the outside world so that he could see, or rather so that he could have seen if it weren't so dark, but not so near the edge that the constant light rain outside drenched him any worse than he already was. He sat down and stared nervously out into the night as he listened to the dwarves in the cave behind him grumbling to each other as they spread their certainly damp blankets on the ground and prepared for attempting to sleep through this horrible, cold night.

Everyone seemed pretty miserable, and understandably so, though a few of the dwarves were in good spirits anyway, as those particular dwarves almost always were. Bilbo could hear Kili whisper something to Fili, who laughed in response. Then he heard Bofur's laugh from the other side of the cave, followed by an annoyed response from Bombur. He couldn't make out what any of them were saying, but he really didn't care. He was too worried to even want in on whatever jokes were going on among the dwarves. He didn't want to laugh right now. He just wanted to make it though the night without being the cause of anyone's death.

"Bilbo!" he heard Fili's voice call out to him from the back of the cave, "heads up!"

The hobbit turned tiredly toward the young dwarf's voice in time to see an apple flying toward his head. Fortunately, and miraculously after this exhausting day, his reflexes were quick enough so that he caught it. He wondered if that's what Thorin's nephews were whispering and laughing about. Had Kili told Fili it would be funny to bomb Bilbo with an apple? Or was their laughter unrelated to that? Was Fili just tossing him an apple to be nice and didn't have the sense to wait until the hobbit was paying attention before he threw it? Though Bilbo almost wanted to grumble and tell Fili never to do that again, he instead nodded and offered a polite thank you as he turned back around and stared out into the darkness again.

As the dwarves finally settled down and their voices slowly faded into light snoring, Bilbo looked out over the wilderness. He wished he could see at least. There could be trolls, or orcs, or even dragons right there in front of the cave, and he wouldn't have known it as long as they stayed quiet. How did any of the dwarves keep watch on nights like this?

This was a terrible idea. How was he supposed to see anything dangerous out there if he couldn't see anything at all? If ever there was a worst possible night to be the hobbit's test run on keeping watch, it was tonight. Why couldn't Thorin have put him on watch duty on a night with a bright, full moon? Bilbo sighed and leaned his back against the stone wall of the cave, closing his eyes in frustration for a moment and shaking his head very slightly in annoyance, annoyance with the situation and with himself. He wasn't like the dwarves. He wasn't used to this lifestyle. He didn't know how to be on constant alert, because he never really needed to be before now. He wondered why they all trusted them with their lives when he so obviously had no idea what he was doing.

"Oi, Bilbo," he opened his eyes when he heard Bofur's soft voice. The dwarf was standing and looking down at him, "thought you might like a blanket. It may be a wee bit wet, but it should be better than nothing. Maybe tomorrow we can start a fire and dry all this stuff out."

Bilbo took the blanket and unrolled it. It was only wet in a few places, where the outside of the roll had been, "thank you, Bofur," he forced a smile as he draped the blanket over himself, and then immediately frowned again when he thought about keeping watch. A mostly dry blanket was nice, but wouldn't protect the group from Bilbo's inability to keep a secure watch over things.

"It's really not as scary as your mind is making it out to be," Bofur assured him when he noticed Bilbo's obvious nervousness, "I remember my first time keeping watch. I was quite a young lad, not even yet an adult... But I actually volunteered to do it. I wanted to be in charge of something that mattered, and was so excited at the thought of staying up and actually doing something important, so I volunteered," he laughed, "that, I regretted immediately just as soon as everyone else fell asleep. I felt like such a fool, sitting there in the dark, up all by myself, and not even knowing what to watch out for."

"That's how I feel right now," Bilbo pouted, "how did you make it through the night?"

Bofur smiled and sat himself down next to Bilbo, "I'll tell you the story," he offered, "like I said, I was still quite young, and hadn't really been out in the wild all that much, and even the times I had been, I always relied on others to keep me safe."

"That's how I've been this whole time," Bilbo frowned, feeling rather pathetic. He was not the sort of person who was good at protecting others. He could barely even keep himself alive, "I feel quite useless, and being assigned a task I know I'm not qualified to perform is only making me feel worse."

"None of us would ask you to keep watch if we didn't believe you capable, Bilbo," Bofur raised his eyebrows.

Bilbo sighed. That's the kind of thing Gandalf would probably tell him. He didn't need to hear any more of that nonsense. Telling someone that they are capable of something they've never done before won't make them an expert. Bilbo didn't know how to keep watch. That was that, "I'm sorry for interrupting," the hobbit wanted to subject of conversation off himself and back on Bofur, "Please, go on with your story."

Bofur nodded and smiled, "right, where was I? I was young, and didn't know what I was doing. I had been too proud to even ask anyone for a short explanation of what I was to watch out for before I volunteered. I just acted like I knew what I was doing, so everyone assumed I did. At least you had the sense to make it known that you aren't sure what to watch for. I just jumped in, totally ready to take on the world, but completely unaware of what exactly the world was made of, so the whole night, I was entirely on edge, likely how you are right now. I was jumping at every noise, be it wind, an owl, or even the snoring of my company. It was ridiculous."

"Did anything end up happening?" Bilbo wondered, "during your watch, I mean. Did anything sinister come along? Did you end up waking everyone?"

"Well, those are two questions which have entirely different answers," Bofur smirked and his eyes seemed to twinkle in the darkness, "no, nothing sinister came along... and yes, I woke everyone."

Bilbo felt a smile spreading across his face, "you woke everyone for nothing?"

Bofur nodded, "that'd be right."

"Why?" Bilbo wondered, "what was it that caused you concern enough to wake everyone up?"

"A pony," Bofur raised his eyebrows and tried not to smile.

Bilbo frowned, "a pony?" That didn't even make sense, "a wild pony?"

"No," Bofur sighed, "one of our own ponies. My own, to be exact. We had tethered them all to tree trunks, but I hadn't tied my own very well. She came trotting up in the night, right toward me. I think she must have wanted an apple - I often sneaked them to her, you see - she was the most well-cared for pony of them all. I couldn't see well in the dark, because much like tonight, we didn't have a fire."

Bilbo nodded as he listened, but didn't interrupt. He was glad to know Bofur sneaked his pony apples, because Bilbo did the same thing. He wondered if the dwarf still did that.

"So she came trotting up to me, and she was excited, but gentle as always, only I didn't know it was her!" Bofur continued, "I just saw a dark, mystery animal, coming right toward me, and naturally I screamed bloody murder! I woke everyone in the whole camp. They were on their feet in seconds flat, armed and ready to defend, but when no one saw anything needing to be fought off, all attention was on me."

"Were they angry with you?" Bilbo winced. Even though it was well in the past, he didn't like the thought of Bofur being in trouble by his elders, especially not for an honest mistake.

"No," Bofur answered, "well, some of them, for a moment. It went like this: They were extremely worried at first. They thought something might have attacked me. They were asking me what had happened, wondering why I screamed. They were fussing all over me like I as a little child, and with good reason. I was one of the youngest in our group, and I'd just screamed loud enough to wake everyone, and no one knew why. After everyone calmed down, and after I told them it had been a mistake, a few became a bit angry. I'd just woken them up for nothing, after all, and had possibly drawn attention to our camp by being the loudest thing around for miles and miles. But then it didn't take them long at all to turn it into joke. They teased me about it for years."

"Oh," Bilbo frowned. He didn't want something like that to happen to him. Already very few among this company seemed to take him seriously. The dwarves didn't need any more reasons to make fun of him.

"My point is, I screwed up, but it was fine. I'm sure everyone would agree that they'd rather be woken up for _nothing_ than not woken up for _something_. It's always best to err on the side of caution. If you think something's wrong, you don't necessarily need to wait and ask questions," Bofur explained.

"But I don't want to be made fun of for years," Bilbo pouted, "and I probably will be considering every single noise out here sounds like a monster to me. We don't have even half of these strange animals back in The Shire. I don't even know what it is I'm hearing half the time. How close do wolves need to be before I should be worried? Are there large, wild cats out in the wild too? Do they meow or growl or howl? I don't know what I'm listening for!"

"Bilbo," Bofur offered a smile as he touched the hobbit's shoulder reassuringly and looked into his eyes, "if you hear anything that scares you, and you're not sure if you should wake everyone, just wake me. I won't make fun of you, even if you wake me up because something silly."

"That might get old fast, Bofur," Bilbo stared at him and shook his head, "you realize you'll probably be woken up at least ten times each time I'm put on watch duty... Right?"

"That's fine," Bofur leaned back against the wall so that his and Bilbo's shoulders were touching, "I'd rather be safe than sorry, and like you said, no one taught you how to keep watch. I can teach you. Maybe I'll be woken up ten times the first night, and maybe nine times the next, then eight, seven, six, and before we know it, you won't need to wake me up at all. You'll be an expert at keeping watch."

"Do you really think I'll be put in charge of keeping watch that many times?" Bilbo wondered.

"Sure," Bofur nodded as he slid his legs under the blanket he'd given to Bilbo before, so that now they were both snuggled underneath it, "we've a long way to go yet, and after tonight, when Thorin sees how well you kept watch, he'll surely let you do it again. You may think you're not good at many things out here, but I think keeping watch is going to turn into one of your specialties. It'll be the thing you're the best at. People will say, 'who should keep watch tonight? It's very important,' and everyone will look toward you and say, 'why, that brave hobbit, Bilbo is excellent at keeping watch. Since it's important, we should have him do it. He's the best at it, after all.'"

Bilbo shook his head, "I don't..." he paused, "that doesn't seem like something that will happen..."

"I've been told hobbits have very good ears. You're made for this stuff. I think you could be very good at it with a bit of practice. If I can be trusted to keep watch after the pony incident, anything's possible," Bofur grinned, snuggling down further under the blanket and settling himself against the wall of the cave.

Bilbo instantly felt warmer now that Bofur was so close to him. He figured the company should always sleep snuggled closer together, as it would be infinitely warmer than everyone huddled under their own individual blanket, but he never dared suggest it. Most of the dwarves seemed to require quite a bit of personal space when they slept. But why was Bofur still here next to him anyway? His story was over. Why hadn't be gone back into the cave to go to sleep with the others?

"Are-" Bilbo hesitated with a furrowed brow as he looked at Bofur, "are you staying up with me then?" he didn't want to sound hopeful, even though he certainly felt that way. It seemed like Bofur was meaning to stick around for a while, or else he wouldn't have bothered getting himself under Bilbo's blanket, but the hobbit didn't want to get his hopes up, nor did he wish to guilt-trip the dwarf into staying up if he hadn't really intended to.

Bofur nodded, "it's your first night keeping watch, Bilbo. And there are lots of ponies around," he glanced at Bilbo and stared at him with a serious face.

Bilbo narrowed his eyes for a moment before offering a slight chuckle, "yes, we wouldn't want a repeat of the pony incident," he joked.

Bofur smiled, "well, now you know to watch out for them. It'll probably be a rabbit to terrorize us tonight."

With a smile, Bilbo looked back out into the darkness, "thank you for staying up with me, Bofur. You really don't have to. I know you're just as tired as everyone else."

"Thorin and some of the others expect too much of you sometimes, Bilbo," Bofur frowned, "I have no doubt you're a very capable hobbit, but the wild is foreign to you. There's still a lot you've got to learn, and while simply tossing you out into the chaos is a good way for you to learn if you need to learn fast, it's not always necessary. I think you deserve a lesson or two in some things, such as in keeping watch, a lesson I could have used myself back in the day, and which would have spared me a lot of teasing from Bombur and Bifer, not that I don't tease them back even better. There's nothing wrong with needing to take the time to learn something, and I'm more than happy to give you lessons in anything I know."

"I need lessons in everything," Bilbo looked back at the dwarf, "all I know how to do is garden, fish, cook, and sleep. I suppose I'm an expert in smoking as well. None of that is much useful out here. Bofur, I'm not even good at burglary. I still often wonder why I'm even here," he shook his head.

"Because Gandalf knew you were right for the job," Bofur told him, "he may not always make much sense to me, but he's a wise wizard, and I don't know that he's often wrong. If Gandalf says you're our burglar, that's good enough for me."

"I think sometimes maybe he's just messing with me," Bilbo sighed and lowered his voice so that if the wizard were still awake, he wouldn't hear, "he knows hobbits aren't into this stuff, but he also knows when I was a child, I always wanted to go off on adventures. He knew of all the hobbits, I was the one foolish enough to agree to do this. He's probably getting a good laugh out of it all."

Bofur laughed, "I think perhaps Gandalf sees a lot more potential in you than you know, and certainly much more than you see in yourself. He isn't one to toy with people like that. I'm sure he enjoys a good joke as much as the next wizard (which might not actually be very much now that I think of it,) but he wouldn't have brought you along on this quest as a joke. Gandalf cares about you and respects you. He wouldn't get you into danger just for a laugh, and he knows the importance of this quest. He chose you for a reason, and it must have been a good one. Perhaps that reason will come to light at a later date."

"Well, I hope no one is disappointed when it turns out I'm just a regular hobbit," Bilbo shrugged, "I never promised to be anything special."

"I think what you need is a little more confidence in yourself. You're more capable than you know," Bofur assured him, "you've already left your home when you didn't think you ever could. This quest is going to offer a whole realm of new experiences for you, many things you would have previously not thought yourself capable of. But you're going to do them. You'll never be alone. We'll all be here to help you out when you need it, but I'll venture to guess you're going to end up doing many much more daunting things than keeping watch."

Bilbo frowned, "is that supposed to make me feel better?" he wondered, "telling me I'll end up having to do even more horrifying things?"

Bofur laughed as he looked out into the night, "it should, because you'll grow because of it. Each new thing you do will make you into a stronger, person. You'll look back, in twenty years, and be so proud of yourself. And we'll all be proud of you too. I already am."

Bilbo turned to look at Bofur, whose eyes were still focused on the darkness outside of the cave, "you are?" Bilbo wondered.

Bofur simply nodded, "Gandalf's not the only one who has faith in you, Bilbo. Some of the dwarves aren't so good at showing it, but you've earned a lot of respect from each of us. Few ever expected you to come on this quest. You had no obligation to come. You earned quite a bit of respect from half of them just by showing up that morning," the dwarf laughed, "you're doing something completely new, and over all, you aren't half bad at it."

The hobbit offered a slight chuckle as he leaned against Bofur's shoulder and looked out into the darkness, "maybe you're right, Bofur," he spoke, "maybe I can become an expert at keeping watch yet. I'll even one day pay you back for staying up with me tonight. I'll take your whole watch over for you... Not any time in the very near future, but eventually. Just don't expect too much out of me too soon."

"Not to worry, Bilbo," Bofur smiled as he glanced over at the hobbit, "if anyone in this cave is patient, that'd be me."

Bilbo smiled. That was certainly true. He was so lucky Bofur was among this company. Even when everyone else lost patience with him or were ready to give up on him, he could always count on Bofur to believe in him and give him the time he needed to sort out all of these strange new things in his mind. If Bofur believed Bilbo could learn to keep watch, then maybe the hobbit really could. Just knowing he had the dwarf's support made all the difference.

_**xxxxxx**_

_**The End. **_

_**I hope you liked it. :) Please leave a review. Thank you.**_


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